Feds drop demand for 1.3 million IP addresses that visited anti-Trump site

Enlarge/ Police officers wearing tactical gear form a barrier with riot shields to prevent the movement of protestors after the inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States on January 20, 2017 in Washington D.C. Hundreds of thousands of people combined to celebrate and protest. (credit: Mark Makela/Getty Images)

The US Department of Justice is backing down on its request to Web hosting service DreamHost to divulge the 1.3 million IP addresses that visited a Trump resistance site. The request was part of the government’s investigation into Inauguration Day rioting, which has already resulted in the indictment of 200 people. More are likely.

“The government has no interest in records relating to the 1.3 million IP addresses that are mentioned in DreamHost’s numerous press releases and Opposition brief,” federal prosecutors said in a new court filing concerning its investigation of the disruptj20.org site.

The government, in the court document, said it did not realize that its original warrant, (PDF) which is part of a federal grand jury investigation into Inauguration Day rioting, was so grand in scope.